Three-fingered salute from 'Hunger Games' concerns Thai army

By Howard Gensler

Posted: June 05, 2014

THE THREE-FINGER SALUTE from "The Hunger Games" is being used as a symbol of resistance in Thailand. Protesters against the military coup are flashing the gesture as a silent act of rebellion, and they're being threatened with arrest if they ignore warnings to stop.

"Raising three fingers has become a symbol in calling for fundamental political rights," anti-coup activist Sombat Boonngamanong said on his Facebook page. He called on people to raise "3 fingers, 3 times a day" - at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. - in safe public places where no police or military are present.

The gesture emerged over the weekend as protesters joined small flash mobs, or stood alone, flashing three fingers in the air.

"We know it comes from the movie, and let's say it represents resistance against the authorities," Col. Weerachon Sukhondhapatipak, a spokesman for the junta, told the Associated Press.

"If a single individual raises three fingers in the air, we are not going to arrest him or her," he said. "But if it is a political gathering of five people or more, then we will have to take some action.

"If it persists, then we will have to make an arrest," he said.

Kind of amazing, huh? The group that took over the country using military force now wants to arrest citizens who stand around with three fingers in the air.

TATTBITS

* Dina Lohan, the mother who acts like the older sister of Lindsay Lohan, won't go to jail for speeding and drunken driving, but a judge yesterday did order her to pay more than $3,000 in fines and fees. She will also perform 100 hours of community service and participate in an anti-drunken-driving program.

Dina's driver's license remains suspended and her sentence includes a requirement that she install an alcohol-detecting ignition lock on her vehicle.

Dina pleaded guilty in April to aggravated driving while intoxicated and speeding in Nassau County, on Long Island, in September. She has said that she was fleeing paparazzi.

State police say that Dina, who lives on the Island, was driving 77 mph in a 55-mph zone. They say her blood-alcohol level was 0.20, more than double the legal limit for fleeing paparazzi.

* A German museum has put on display a copy of Vincent van Gogh's ear that was grown using genetic material provided by one of the 19th-century Dutch artist's living relatives.

The Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe said artist Diemut Strebe made the replica using living cells from Lieuwe van Gogh, the great-great-grandson of Vincent's brother, Theo.

Using a 3-D printer, the cells were shaped to resemble the ear that Vincent is said to have cut off during a psychotic episode in 1888. And what a fine use of a 3-D printer that is.

The U.S.-based artist said the ear, which was grown at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, is being kept alive inside a case containing a nourishing liquid and could theoretically last for years.

But you have to stand real close and shout if you want it to hear you.

* Rihanna was the big draw Monday at the annual Council of Fashion Designers of America awards, which also honor the year's top designers.

RiRi, dressed in a see-through fishnet dress, gloves and headscarf embellished with thousands of crystals, was awarded the group's 2014 Fashion Icon Award. Previous honorees have been Lady Gaga, Kate Moss, Nicole Kidman and Johnny Depp, who also looks good in fishnets.

Also being honored at New York's Lincoln Center was designer Tom Ford, who won the lifetime achievement award. The Founder's Award went to Bethann Hardison, a former model and modeling agent who has been a vocal champion for runway diversity.

Joseph Altuzarra won CFDA's women's wear award while the menswear award went to designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, the duo behind the label Public School. Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen won the accessories award. CFDA's international award went to Raf Simons, of Dior.

* Police say they have recovered the 2014 Maserati stolen from Miley Cyrus' home last week.

Los Angeles police Lt. Andy Neiman says the car was found Monday afternoon in Simi Valley, a city about 45 miles northwest of downtown L.A.

Detectives are searching the car for evidence.

* Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez - the Oscar-winning husband-and-wife team behind the film "Frozen" - are preparing a new musical comedy called "Up Here."

The La Jolla Playhouse in California said yesterday that the show will be part of its 2015-16 season and will be directed by Tony Award nominee Alex Timbers. Lopez and Anderson-Lopez have written the songs, lyrics and story.

Lopez helped write "The Book of Mormon" and "Avenue Q," while his wife is behind Disney World's "Finding Nemo" show. Together they wrote the songs for "Frozen," including the monster hit "Let It Go."

* According to USA Today, Aaron Lewis, the frontman of Staind, ripped a portion of the group's male audience in Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday, when guys tried to cop a feel off a teenage female crowd surfer.

Cutting into the group's song "Something to Remind You," Lewis said, in part, "All right, listen up. . . . That . . . girl right there is like 15 . . . years old, and you . . . are molesting her while she's on the . . . crowd. Your . . . mothers should be ashamed of themselves. . . . If I . . . see that . . . again, I swear to God, I will point you out in the crowd and have everyone around you beat your [expletive].